Ambassador John Rakolta, Jr. (Ret.) is the Chairman of Walbridge, a privately held construction company founded in Detroit in 1916. He is the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Commissioner General of Expo Dubai 2020, having served from 2019 to 2021.
He played a hands-on role in the diplomatic breakthrough between Israel and the UAE, serving as a go-between in the delicate negotiations that led to the historic signing of the Abraham Accords. The groundbreaking accords forged the foundation for normalization of diplomatic relations across the region, resulting in more Middle Peace agreements signed in 5 months than had been signed in the previous 25 years.
Rakolta has received the Michiganian of the Year award, New Detroit’s Leadership in Race Relations Award, the Romanian National Order of Merit, the United Arab Emirates Zayed II Medal, the U.S. National Security Medal, the Urban Land Institute Michigan Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship. He also served as the Chair of the Growing Michigan Together Council and the 2024 Detroit Policy Conference.
Rakolta earned a degree in Civil Engineering from Marquette University. He also completed the Smaller Company Management Program, now known as OPM, at Harvard Business School.